As odd as it sounds, I absolutely love 30s and 40s Poverty row B-Movies. It’s really behind 50s creature features and 70s exploitation in most peoples minds. Poverty row really was the birth of the B-movie and this film is a great example of the decentnesss that could come out of these studios.

Okay, first things to get out of the way. This movie doesn’t have much to do with Valleys or the modern definition of Zombies. So I’ll have to apologize to all the disappointed Valley fans out there that saw the film title. It’s mainly a mystery film with horror elements, like many horror films from the 30s and 40s were. And the Zombie (one Zombie yes) can speak and is really just a play on the Haitian beliefs shown in other films from the time like White Zombie, but is still different from that. It’s kind of hard to explain.

Would I recommend this film to anyone? Sure! It’s only 56 minutes long and if you enjoy any type of B-Movie it’s a cool film to watch as it plays a role in the evolution of the Zombie Genre.
PROS
56 minutes long
Fun and entertaining

The Town that Dreaded Sundown being released on Blu-Ray really shows how great the format is. This is a movie, like Godzilla Vs Biolante or many other cult films was lost to the DVD era and is now being put out on Blu-Ray by amazing companies like Shout Factory. Hopefully we will see some great releases like this in the future.

TTTDS is similar to Pierce’s other well known work The Legend of Boggy Creek. But a little more dramatized then it. It’s about a serial killer that terrorized Texarkanaka, Arkansas. it’s in the documentary style of Boggy Creek, but is more of a slasher film then a pseudo documentary.

As much as I love Boggy Creek, overall TTTDS is a better film. It has some great suspenseful moments. But it also has some pretty awful moments, like Charles Pierce’s role of Sparkplug, an inept sheriff’s deputy who gets into all sorts of hilarious Hi-jinks is one of the worst parts of the film and parts like that put it below boggy creek in my opinion.

The Scream Factory/Shout Factory Blu-Ray of the film is fantastic. Picture quality is great for a 70s exploration film, and the disc comes with some pretty decent special features. Also the DVD in the set comes with a copy of Pierce’s film The Evictors which is making it’s first DVD appearance as well.

All and all this is a great Blu-Ray set for someone who wants to get acquainted with some Charles B Pierce movies other then the Boggy Creek films, The movies are good (I’ll get to reviewing The Evictors later) and the disc has some great special features for such a cult film. This movie gets a yes from me

PROS

One of the best slasher of the 70s

Great Atmosphere when it wants to have it

Well made and one of Charles B Pierce’s best films.

CONS

Spark plug, and other comedic relief kill the horror parts of the movie sometimes.

I’m going to say something up front. I’m a fan of Brad Jones and his review show, but I’m going to try my best to not give this film a bias because of that.
Do you like sleaze? Then “Cheap” might be a movie you want to see. This low budget shot on video film by internet famous film reviewer Brad Jones is dripping in it from start to finish. The griminess of the video and the overall feel of the film makes you feel dirty from beginning to end. The film runs into a few obvious problems due to the low budget nature of the project, but the good acting, directing, and script really power through to provide a entertaining, if disturbing experience.
Jack Stone (Brad Jones) a porno director is looking for the next big thing. He decides he wants to make a real snuff film. He finds two girls, Patty and Anita, to star in the film, and gets his perverted former associate, Manny, to film the movie. They then make a snuff film, which they sell to porn producer Max Force (David Gobble). Will they find success?
“Cheap” is a very odd movie, even for an exploitation film about making a snuff film. I was initially put off by it’s near two hour run time, which is unusual in the realm of this genre. But when you watch “Cheap” everything comes together very nicely, and the story really drives everything forward at a good pace. I really couldn’t think of anything that could be cut out of the film.
Another thing about it is the lack of very many conventional screenwriting motifs that are in most scripts. There isn’t a protagonist, or really an antagonist for that matter. Sure Jack Stone is killing people for profit, but Max Force is a wife beating drug addict. Still though, the great writing doesn’t make you think of this much and you can really pick your own side in it.
“Cheap” does have a few cheap moments though, which considering the budget doesn’t bring the film down much. A few of the kicks and hits look pretty bad, and at one point a prop for a human heart is an aluminum foil ball in blood! A lot of scenes are very convincing and disturbing though.
Overall I recommend “Cheap”. For a shot of video low budget film it has a lot of potential.
PROS
Great writing
Great acting
Great directing
the story is pretty twisted, but kind of fun too.
Really good soundtrack

I’m busy with finals and moving my stuff to a new computer at the moment, so now time for a new video. I however found this video and thought it might be interesting to some of you. It’s NSFW so watch out for that.

There, I said it. I don’t care if you think the Showa Gamera films are “Childish”, or “Stupid”, Or “use too much Stock Footage”. Well the Godzilla films from the same time period were about all of those also, and you know what? They’re all awesome. The majority of Gamera films are pretty awesome too. Not really this one, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

“Gamera” starts out in the Arctic, kind of like “Beast From 20,000 Fathoms.” Hell you could call this a rip off of that movie more so then a Godzilla one. It even has a lighthouse scene!. So anyways Gamera is awakened because of a nuclear blast that is the result of a Soviet jet with a nuclear arsenal being shot down, which surprisingly doesn’t start WW3 After this Gamera goes on the usual trek across the Japan. Sorta halfway befriending a child, and destroying Tokyo. It’s all typical monster stuff.

That’s my problem with “Daikaiju Gamera”. It’s just too normal and regular, especially compared to the colorful creative entries later in the series. Godzilla films at the time had been in color for almost half a decade by this time, so it’s odd that they would decide to film in black and white, even for budget concerns. The characters in the movie are really flat, while the Godzilla films at the time usually had interesting characters at the least. And the “Kenny” character, well that deserves a new paragraph.

Fuck this kid. He’s the worst kid in any kaiju film ever. He’s a self centered brat that doesn’t care about his sister, or anyone else. All he cares about is a giant turtle that is seen burning people to death on screen. In one part a guy saves his life, almost risking his own. And you know what Kenny has to thank him for? Nothing! He’s almost mad because he doesn’t get to see Gamera! This kid is the worst, and really makes the kids seen later in the series seem not as bad.

The effects in “Daikaiju Gamera” are above average for Japan at the time, they don’t compare to Godzilla’s best efforts in this era, but they’re still decent. Save for a few wires on planes and such. The Black and White actually helps the effects believability a little bit.

Overall I would give “Daikaiju Gamera” a very uneasy “Yes”. While it’s dull compared to later efforts in the series, it also makes for an entertaining afternoon and a decent introduction to what’s to come in the series.

PROS
Gamera!
Good city destruction action.
It’s really short
Surprisingly well directed and has good cinematography

CONS
The Kenny character, fuck him.
Uninspired and dull for a Gamera film
Zero Character development.
Gamera really works best with another monster.

THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK (1972)
Directed by – Charles Pierce
Staring – The Town of Fouke, Arkansas
1hr 30m

‘The Legend of Boggy Creek’ is a 1972 low budget horror film by Charles Pierce. It’s the film that started the “Bigfootsplotation” boom of the early and mid 70s. Sure there had been films before this about Bigfoot, and well most of them are really really awful. Some films like “Curse of Bigfoot” are near unwatchable messes. “Boggy Creek” also had a hand in a genre that has been showing its head recently. I’m referring to the found footage genre. Of course you could say Blair Witch started it, and if you’re more of an exploitation nerd you would correct people and say it was “Cannibal Holocaust”, but I believe this film planted the seeds for that genre more so then any other.

“Boggy Creek” is shot like a documentary for this most part. There are interviews with people in the town about the monster and occasionally footage of the monster stalking people in the woods and swamps. The Documentary feel of the film is actually pretty well done for the most part and actually feels more genuine then Future Bigfoot documentaries that end up on TV now.

In some parts this does fall apart a little though, toward the end of the film it goes more into straight horror territory with the young couples house being attacked. And the other problem that ruins the illusion is the Bigfoot suit. For the most part though the director acknowledges the suit they have is shitty, and they manages to hide it in the shadows for most of the scenes.

“Boggy Creek” is my personal favorite Bigfoot movie from the 70s and recommend anyone interested in 70s monster movies to check it out. It can be rather cheesy in parts, but the influence this film has is huge, even on today’s film market.

CONS
Might be a little too cheesy for some people
When the movie tries to be a straight up horror film It falls a little flat.

Overall I would say yes to seeing this movie and would give it **** out of *****.

“Boggy Creek” is a well made atmospheric film, and I think it could provide inspiration to many low budget filmmakers out there. Charles Pierce made this film on a 100,000 budget, which was low even for 1972, and he made 20 million on the film. In terms of budget to gross it was pretty much the “Paranormal Activity” of the 1970s. Not that I’m comparing the quality of the two films.” As Boggy Creek” is obviously superior.

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Hello!

Blogotronic video? What is that?
Think of this blog as a place for the strange and obscure, where under the radar is over it, where finishing last is celebrated, and where judging movies by their budgets is not accepted.
Blogotronic video is a place for film watchers that have a different taste. One that may be seen in the films of the exploitation, B-movie, and overall horror genre.
I’ll try to update as much as possible. most likely Ill start posting some of my old reviews. So get ready to be weirded out in a good way.
Reviews are likely going to be posted every Wednesday and Saturday. But don't count on it. I don't stick to schedules very well.

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